Hockey Club Lugano approaches the new season with a program that combines sporting ambition, organizational consolidation, and investment in the younger generation. The message that emerged from the season-opening press conference at the Casetta Gialla is that of a club intent on continuing the path it has embarked on in recent months, without hiding its aspirations but avoiding turning them into promises.
President Vicky Mantegazza summarized this approach, describing a philosophy of concreteness and, at the same time, a desire to continue looking ahead. This attitude is also reflected in the club's corporate decisions and the definition of Hockey Club Lugano's future goals.
The club operates in an increasingly competitive environment, where financial resources remain an important factor, but not enough, on their own, to determine a team's performance. Juventus's sports budget continues to be in the middle of the National League, while some competitors can count on greater resources. The challenge, therefore, will be to bridge this gap through organization, quality of work, and continuity.
The balance at the top of the club is changing
The start of the season also coincides with some changes to HCL's management structure. Fabio Regazzi, a member of the Council of States, recently took over the role of vice president of the Board of Directors of HCL SA. This appointment was presented as part of a strategy focused on long-term planning, leveraging the entrepreneurial and institutional expertise and the network of relationships he has developed throughout his career.
Massimo Pedrazzini, a figure active in various economic and institutional fields, has been a member of the Board of Directors for over a year. His roles include chairmanship of the Board of Directors of the Fidinam Group and chairmanship of the HC Lugano Academy Foundation, which has supported the Juventus youth sector since 2015.
Another step forward concerns the Hockey Club Lugano association. At the members' meeting on October 6th, the nomination of Gabriele Zanzi as president will be proposed. The board of directors of the organization responsible for the Youth Section also includes entrepreneur Andrea Gehri, Mario Mantegazza, and Emilio Martinenghi, also a member of the HC Lugano Academy Foundation Board.
Anna Mantegazza is also expected to join the Foundation. This set of changes will strengthen the connection between the club's leadership, the youth sector, and the organizations involved in developing future players.
The issue of the changing rooms and the dialogue with the City
Among the outstanding issues is the space allocated to the first team. The locker room used by the players dates back to 1995 and, according to the club, no longer meets the needs of modern professional sporting activity.
The issue has been placed among the club's most immediate priorities. Dialogue with the city authorities continues, and Hockey Club Lugano is now awaiting the City Council's decision to undertake an intervention deemed necessary to improve the team's daily working conditions.
This is a question that goes beyond purely logistical aspects. The available facilities impact the organization of training sessions, recovery, and, more generally, a club's ability to offer suitable conditions to players and staff.
Swiss hockey continues to grow
In his speech, CEO Marco Werder highlighted the positive momentum Swiss hockey is experiencing. The National League continues to enjoy high levels of fan participation, with average stadium occupancy rates approaching 90 percent.
Television exposure has also reached significant levels, exceeding 15 million viewers, while the Swiss national team occupies first place in the IIHF rankings. These indicators confirm hockey's growing centrality in the national sporting system.
Local roots remain one of the movement's key characteristics. In Switzerland, hockey successfully engages audiences from different regions, generations, and linguistic communities. This growth, according to the Lugano leadership, must be accompanied by decisions that make it sustainable over the long term.
Salaries, talent, and infrastructure: the challenges of the National League
The movement's growth also brings new challenges. One of the main ones concerns the rising salaries of Swiss players, in an increasingly competitive and costly market for clubs.
Alongside the economic issue, there's also the need to more effectively support young players in their transition to professionalism, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 23. It's at this stage that many talented players must navigate the leap from the youth sector to the top national level.
The third issue concerns infrastructure. The number of covered ice rinks available in Switzerland remains lower than in some of the major international hockey nations. This limitation can impact the opportunities for practicing, training, and developing new players.
The CMFG Arena and the Sigirino project
The project for the new CMFG Arena in Sigirino fits into this framework, having been identified by Hockey Club Lugano as one of the tools for addressing the issues of infrastructure and training.
The multi-sports center is intended to offer new opportunities to the youth sector and create different conditions for athlete recruitment, training, and development. The project was made possible by Gianni Ochsner's entrepreneurial vision and the financial contribution of the City of Lugano to rent the ice rink for the youth section.
For HCL, investing in facilities is primarily a strategic choice. In a market where acquiring established players is becoming increasingly costly, building internal expertise and guiding talent toward professionalism can be one of the key ways to ensure long-term competitiveness.
Hockey Club Lugano and its youth team, ten homegrown players
The presence of players trained within the Juventus system is already one of the most significant elements of the project. The first team includes ten players who grew up in the Hockey Club Lugano youth system: Brian Zanetti, Harijs Cjunskis, Enea Togni, Alessio Bertaggia, Marco Zanetti, Lorenzo Canonica, Luca Fazzini, Giovanni Morini, Cyrill Henry, and Dario Simion.
This fact is seen by the club as concrete proof of the possibility of building a pathway from youth development to the highest level. The stated goal now is to further strengthen this pipeline.
The club intends to invest more in its Hockey School and develop collaboration between its sporting activities and its academic curriculum, aiming to streamline the transition of young players to the higher categories and, where possible, to the first team.
More audience and over four thousand subscribers
Hockey Club Lugano's growth isn't just about technical skill. Last season, average attendance increased by nearly 400 spectators per game, a sign the club intends to build on.
The club has announced its intention to further strengthen its relationship with the local community through initiatives in neighborhoods and schools. One week before the start of the championship, season ticket holders number 4,018, a slight increase compared to the previous season.
This data confirms the presence of a loyal fan base, which the club considers a key element in its growth. The relationship with the local community is thus incorporated into a strategy that encompasses not only results on the ice, but also the ability to engage new generations of fans and young players.
A daily routine designed to improve performance
On the sporting front, General Manager Janick Steinmann emphasized the recovery in confidence and credibility after the positive previous season. The medium-term goal is to build a stable organization capable of maintaining competitiveness and continuity.
Among the changes introduced is a different management of practice days. The team will be able to begin daily preparations later than in the past and dedicate more time to on-ice work and preparation.
The change is designed to promote recovery, especially after more demanding trips, and to improve the quality of work done during the week. Small changes in daily organization can have significant impacts on the team's overall efficiency.
More offensive potential, but the key word remains balance
The first few weeks of activity have also offered positive indications regarding the new foreign additions, which according to the management have contributed to increasing the team's offensive potential.
The National League, however, continues to be characterized by increasing balance. The gap between teams has gradually narrowed, and every opponent can pose a hurdle. Hence the decision to maintain a cautious approach, avoiding turning expectations into goals already achieved.
Steinmann's sporting objective is to qualify for the playoffs. Beyond the immediate result, however, the continuation of the growth process that began last season remains central.
Qualifying for the decisive stage of the championship therefore represents the concrete benchmark, while building a more solid team and organization is considered a task destined to develop over time.
First team and youth sector increasingly closer
One of the key elements of the General Manager's strategy concerns the relationship between the first team and the youth sector. The aim is to develop a shared philosophy, with a top-down organization and shared principles across the various categories.
The collaboration should also translate into more frequent attendance by first-team coaches at youth team training sessions. A continuous exchange of information between the staff is also planned, with the aim of streamlining the players' technical development.
The project aims to bridge the gap between the club's various components. For a young athlete, progressing from grassroots to the first team should become a more recognizable journey, with consistent working methods and technical guidance.
The future comes from continuity
The start of the season thus paints a picture of a Hockey Club Lugano engaged on multiple levels. On the one hand, there's the need to achieve results in the short term and secure a playoff spot. On the other, there's a broader commitment to the club structure, infrastructure, training, and the relationship between the first team and the youth team.
The choice seems to be to avoid shortcuts. With a budget that doesn't place the club among the top National League players in terms of spending power, the HCL is focusing on the quality of its organization, the development of its players, and its ability to create continuity.
Dream, then, but without losing touch with reality. This is the direction set at the start of the new season: build a competitive team today, while keeping an eye on what Hockey Club Lugano can become in the years to come.
